


De S'Apprivoiser

by arysthaeniru



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen, preYanaSana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 09:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1739243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/arysthaeniru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanada doesn't like Yanagi all that much when he first meets him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	De S'Apprivoiser

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sumiya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumiya/gifts).



The first time that Sanada noticed Yanagi was thanks to Yukimura. They were walking through Club Day, and Yukimura was happily pointing out the other stalls, as if there was even a possibility they would be joining any club other than Rikkai’s Tennis Team. Personally, Sanada felt that Yukimura was pointing out the inadequacy of every other stall before they reached the tennis stall, which was (of course) the most crowded. 

“The vast majority will be fed-up within the first three weeks and be out.” whispered Yukimura with a smirk. 

Sanada nodded. “Morons. They’re just joining to brag about the reputation, not actually play.” . Especially since he noticed a few idiots from his class attempting to join in. 

Yukimura was looking around for the Rikkai captain to hand the forms to, when his face brightened and he trotted over to someone else, who was definitely not the intimidating captain who’d scouted them at the Youth Tournament. 

“Yanagi-kun!” he called cheerfully, as he bounced to a stop in front of a boy with a haircut that was somehow worse than Sanada’s own. The boy was tall and lanky, lacking the awkwardness that had accompanied Sanada’s growth spurt. His eyes were almost completely shut, which made him look entirely relaxed. 

“Yukimura-kun.” he greeted. “You’re joining the tennis club as well?”

“Of course.” said Yukimura, with confidence. “We’ll get in, as well, Sanada and I. Are you any good at tennis?”

Yanagi nodded, looking a little in Sanada’s direction, curiously. “My previous doubles partner and I went to international competitions in Hawaii.” 

Yukimura’s eyes widened before they narrowed speculatively and he started chattering to Yanagi, while his other hand snaked around Sanada’s wrist to pull him along with them. It was the sort of inane chatter that up until then, only Sanada had been able to hear. He felt a sharp, stabbing sensation of annoyance towards Yanagi-kun and his frown grew more pronounced as they continued walking away. 

It was the first week of school and he was already angry with someone.

(X)

For the next couple of weeks, it was all ‘Yanagi-kun this’ and ‘Yanagi-kun’ that and it drove Sanada somewhat crazy. Yukimura and Yanagi sat next to each other in the same homeroom, and they shared all but two lessons. The two lessons they didn’t share were because Yanagi and Sanada were in the same classes for those. Sanada found himself very, very irritated by that, considering he had a total of zero classes with his best friend, but had to spend two hours of his time with the interloper. 

And then Yanagi-kun starting hanging out with them at the tennis club as the talent started being honed, during that first month of tennis. Yukimura gleefully included him in their conversations and Sanada was reduced to silence, unwilling to speak freely with Yanagi. 

And so, Sanada found himself more and more alone. There was a polite and clever boy, called Yagyuu-kun, in his class who occasionally chatted with him, but other than that, his only real friend was Yukimura. And Yukimura seemed far more interested in ‘Yanagi-kun’ than anything else. 

Which found Sanada, on any given day to be in the library, studying alone, going through his books in utter silence. He had a table to himself and he’d already gained a reputation for being unapproachable, so he wasn’t disturbed. It was easier to drown himself in studies and kendo and the physical aspect of tennis than to think about what would happen if Yukimura decided that Yanagi-kun was more interesting than his old best friend. 

And then, one afternoon after they had been selected as regulars on the team, Sanada looked up from his maths homework to glance the the impassive face of Yanagi-kun, sitting down at his table. He didn’t say anything to Sanada; just cracked his own study-books open, and started to read, getting quickly engrossed.

Sanada had frowned for a moment, considered moving tables somewhere else so he didn’t look like he was actually friendly with Yanagi, but decided that it would be too petty and too much effort. He looked back down instead and went back to work. 

Their legs brushed underneath the table frequently and Sanada had frowned every time that happened, but said nothing, in response to Yanagi’s silence. Still, despite those occasional brushings, Yanagi was utterly silent, to the point where it seemed like he wasn’t there, as they studied in the warm afternoon light streaming in through the windows. The only sound that came from him was the soft clearing of his throat and the light scritching of a pen and those were easily ignored.

When Sanada got up to leave, the only acknowledgement that Yanagi gave, was to stretch his legs out a little further and softly smile at his books. 

(X)

It soon became a daily routine, Yanagi-kun sitting down with Sanada in the bookstacks and them sitting in utter silence as they finished homework assignments and did extra work, together. To Sanada’s surprise, it soon became rather comfortable. The days when Yanagi couldn’t make it actually started to disappoint him a little. 

Having company while he studied was nice, he had to admit. Especially when said company wasn’t trying to distract him all the time, like Yukimura did whenever they studied together. It never really remained studying when he and Yukimura attempted to work. They did work for perhaps an hour, maybe two if Yukimura was in a quieter mood, before Sanada was dragged out to play tennis for the rest of the time. 

It hadn’t been the most efficient way to study for the Rikkai entrance exams, but somehow, they’d both passed. 

And soon, his afternoons studying with Yanagi stopped being comfortable, and became a routine. By the second month, they had a silent, unspoken schedule of when both of them could make it. He wasn't quite sure how that had happened but he didn't mind it. It was comfortable enough for Sanada to finally breach the impenetrable silence between the two of them. 

“Yanagi-kun?” he asked, his voice quiet as he stared at his maths textbook. “What was your answer for problem 4c?”

Yanagi looked surprised, as his eyebrows shot up to the top of his face. But then he relaxed a little and reached into his bag and opened up his maths notebook. “I received a value of two-thirds of x.”

Sanada frowned. “I did not receive that answer. Could you possibly explain it to me?”

Yanagi nodded. “Hand over your book. Let me see your workings.” Sanada passed him the book and their fingers brushed a little as Yanagi took the book. Sanada felt a little static shock and frowned. He hated when that happened. 

“Here, you forgot to simplify your answer here, so the second part of the problem got more complex.” said Yanagi, as he pointed it out for Sanada. 

Sanada nodded and took his book back. “Thank you.” he said, bowing his head a little.

Yanagi just smiled back and they went back to work. 

(X)

And that became a regular thing. In the classes they shared, maths and history, Sanada found that Yanagi usually claimed the seat next to him in classes, and they silently challenged each other each lesson about who could answer the most questions, and the most important of all, who could beat Yagyuu’s question-answering ability. 

And when Yukimura pulled the three of them together in tennis club (as the only three freshmen on the team), Sanada wasn’t quite so resentful or annoyed. He felt a lot more content to say a few things to Yanagi and speak about the weaknesses he saw in the team and debate it over with Yanagi, who was skilled in analyzing everybody’s weaknesses, in an impassive manner that Sanada admired. 

They played doubles a lot, he and Yanagi. It was easy with Yanagi, who was a natural doubles player. He and Yukimura’s doubles were impeccable, but that had come from years of practise and frequent shouting matches at each other. With Yanagi, he just knew when Sanada would move and when Sanada would leave the ball for Yanagi. Yanagi also knew when to move out of the way and when Sanada was aware of him or not. It made for a nearly unstoppable combination; their coordination and individual strengths. 

A small part of Sanada wondered just how good Yukimura and Yanagi would be as a doubles pair, but Yukimura hated doubles with a passion and wouldn’t suggest it, as he had with Yanagi and Sanada’s combination pair. Sanada wasn’t all too eager to bring it up, either. 

Everyone knew the Yanagi-Sanada pair were the shoe-in for Doubles 2, a quick way to smash their opponents from the get-go. And through the frequent practises, Sanada definitely felt a little more friendly towards the other player. 

It helped that they shared many interests. Sanada found it easier to talk about old history and literature with another mind who preferred the quieter things in life. Yukimura knew about these things, but Yukimura preferred foreign culture to their own. He enjoyed debating interpretations of old texts and what they talked about in history class and writing their own poetry, though Sanada had to admit that his paled in comparison to Yanagi’s. He revelled in teaching Yanagi some calligraphy and seeing Yanagi slowly grasp the concept and the patience behind it. It was something of a friendship, he supposed, when he and Yanagi were quietly laughing over their teacher's flawed interpretation of something they could clearly see. 

Still, he felt a little uneasy when he saw Yukimura and Yanagi outside of their classes, with Yukimura’s hand wrapped tightly around Yanagi’s arm and Yanagi looking a tad perplexed. Yukimura was always his best friend. That was how things worked. Sanada couldn’t even remember a life without Yukimura and that was how close they were. But lately they were drifting and Sanada couldn’t help but wonder whether that was truly Yanagi’s fault, or that Sanada just wasn’t interesting to Yukimura anymore. 

Still, ideas like that would eventually drive him to insanity, especially since Yukimura was his only friend. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do if Yukimura walked away, but he was sure it wouldn’t be healthy. Dwelling on it wasn’t healthy.

That was what Sanada had managed to convince himself of, two weeks before the District Matches. At least, until he’d walked down to the tennis changing rooms and Yukimura was in mid-sentences talking to ‘Renji’. And Yanagi was smiling back, looking more animated than Sanada had ever seen him, with the words ‘Seiichi’ tumbling from his mouth. 

It was stupid, but Sanada had felt the sharpest stabbing sensation of being left behind, or being abandoned. He and Yukimura had never once called each other by first names, over nine long years of friendship. Yet Yukimura was already calling Yanagi-kun ‘Renji’? 

The scene was imprinted in his mind. The radiant smiles from both of them, wider than Sanada could remember when the three of them had been together. The small, light touches to each others’ wrists and the laughter. The laughter was what hurt the most. 

Sanada dropped his racket and broke into a run, away from the duo. He ran as far and as fast as he could, until he collided straight into someone. He grunted from the impact and looked up. It was one of the third-year senpai, from his grandfather’s dojo. He stammered and bowed. “I’m very sorry for the obstruction, senpai.” he said.

“Not a problem, Sanada-kun.” said his senpai, Kitamura-san, as he brushed himself off. “Where are you off to in such a hurry, huh? Haven’t you got tennis practise?”

“Practise was cancelled.” lied Sanada, looking down. “I wanted to grab my books from my locker.” He wasn’t a convincing liar, despite his great acting skills. Especially since his voice was shaking. 

But Kitamura-senpai didn’t call him out on it, just looked interested. “Hey, if you have free time, maybe you could pop by kendo club?” he looked both ways and bent down a bit. “Between you and me, they’re slacking because they think they’re the best. Why don’t you help me show them they have a long way to go, huh?”

Sanada blinked. The idea appealed to him, because anyone not taking kendo seriously was just weird. And Sanada was so much better than any of his grandfather’s youth students. Of course, Sanada was nowhere near the level of the police officers that often trained at their dojo, but he could defeat any child their age. “It’s tarundoru that they aren’t taking it seriously.” uttered Sanada. “But that doesn’t mean that I have to join the kendo club, does it?”

Kitamura-senpai shook his head. “Nah. Just show up as an outside demo and smash all of them, so they get their motivation back.”

Sanada nodded and agreed, following his senpai back inside. He felt both angry and sad and conflicted all at the same time. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to win against the kendo club when he was filled with this much turmoil. But he couldn’t return to tennis. Not today. 

He put on the uniform and followed the senpai into the room. Kitamura-senpai extended a challenge to the members of the team, and he faced off with the captain from the get-go. To his relief, from the moment he looked down the shinai, his emotions disappeared. All that remained was the sword as an extension of his arm. It was a quick fight against the captain, who looked speechless. Those who attended his grandfather’s dojo nodded in expectation, but the others looked ready to challenge him.

He bowed to the captain, and without removing his helmet, he beckoned another one forward. He fought and won against four other people people before he had to pull off his helmet and take a break. It was refreshing to just pant and sweat and not feel inadequate. Then, he put the helmet back on and tried again. He didn’t lose a single match during the whole three hours, though his match with Kitamura had been nicely challenging. 

He came out of the kendo club feeling lighter from the temporary cessation of his anger and pain and sadness. But all of them were brought back by the sight of Yukimura leaning against the door, waiting for him with a faint frown on his face. Sanada’s jaw tightened and he nodded, as he made to move past. 

“You didn’t show up at practise today.” said Yukimura, coolly. “We got worried, but I knew you were in class. And you came to _kendo club_ , of all places?”

“Grandfather asked me to.” said Sanada, lying, as he jammed his cap over his face and started to walk away. He couldn’t deal with this, not with a lump rapidly rising to his throat. 

“Don’t lie to me, Sanada, you’re as transparent as glass.” said Yukimura, angrily. “Why’d you skip?”

“If I’m so transparent, why don’t you tell me?” asked Sanada, angrily, as he stormed out of the door. He couldn’t deal with this right now. 

He was grabbed from behind by Yukimura and pushed against the wall. “Moron! Look at me when I’m speaking to you.” he ordered, coldly, his deceptively gentle face getting closer to Sanada’s. 

Sanada’s lips pressed so firmly together they were practically invisible, but he obeyed orders. “What?” he asked, tightly. He didn’t want to use too many words, because it was getting increasingly difficult to break past the lump in his throat, without revealing the difficulty he had in speaking. 

“Why don’t you tell me? asked Yukimura, his voice a little softer as he looked over Sanada’s face. “You’ve been acting really strange since we got to Rikkai. I thought you’d get over it...but it never happened.”

He’d been acting strange? Sanada snorted. “You’re imagining things.” he said, but his voice chose that moment to shake, and Sanada had to take a deep breath in to keep his composure. “Look, I just....couldn’t play tennis today. I wouldn’t have been useful at all.” he said, his voice getting quieter. “Better that I didn’t show up at all, than slow everyone down.”

“Did something happen?” asked Yukimura, looking concerned. “You need to tell me these things, damnit, Sanada!”

Sanada shook his head. “Nobosuke’s coming home in a week, but nothing else.” he said, grateful that his voice hadn’t broken there. 

“Then what?” At Sanada’s silence, Yukimura dropped his head against Sanada’s chest, with a light thump. “You’re impossible, sometimes. I’m your friend. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” 

Sanada exhaled, a little shakily. “It’s so stupid. You’d hate me for it.” he said, and this time, his voice was shaking erratically. 

Yukimura wrapped his arms around Sanada. “I couldn’t ever hate you. That’s what best friends are. I couldn’t hate you if I tried.” he said. “Idiot. But come on, let’s go back home.” 

Sanada frowned, as he attempted to regain his composure. “You live on the opposite side of town.” 

“Not for a couple of days.” said Yukimura, as he pulled away, and looked away, much to Sanada’s gratitude. “Mother’s in Paris, so I’m staying at your place. You’d better not wake me up at four, okay? Unlike you, I value sleep.” 

Sanada let out a choked laugh and looked down. Even if Yanagi-kun was Renji to Yukimura now, it was okay. Because a name didn’t– _couldn’t_ change or replace nine years of constant friendship. “Right. You’re just a lazy-arse.” 

“Say that again, oh-skipper-of-practise.” teased Yukimura and Sanada walked away with him. 

(X)

A week of Yukimura living with him did him a world of good. Despite their arguments over who got the futon, the wrestling over who got the bathroom first in the evenings, the constant distraction from homework, thanks to Yukimura’s lack of care and the constant bickering about everything under the stars; Sanada truly felt closer than ever to Yukimura.

But most of all, it allowed his fears to stop about losing his friendship with Yukimura. “You know,” whispered Yukimura, as they got ready to go to bed on the last day that Yukimura would be staying over, “Gaining another close friend doesn’t mean you stop liking the old one.” said Yukimura, as he rolled out the futon.

Sanada turned around with a confused look and Yukimura smiled, softly. “You’re still transparent to me.” he said, as he walked up and threw his arms around Sanada’s shoulders. Sanada leant into the hug and sighed.

“It’s stupid.” he said, finally, pulling away. 

“Maybe.” said Yukimura, with a shrug, as he flopped down on his futon. “But it’s not made a less valid fear because it’s kind of silly. But you’re still my oldest and first friend, promise.”

Sanada smiled, gratefully. “Are you nervous for Districts this Saturday?” he asked, as he settled down on the futon and rolled out the blanket. 

“Who’d be nervous?” retorted Yukimura, with a smirk. “Who can stand in our way?”

Sanada laughed. “Captain would be telling you to not be so cocky.”

“I beat him.” retorted Yukimura, as he shut his eyes. “He can go suck on it.” 

“Yukimura!” he exclaimed and their laughter filled the room, until a loud. ‘GO TO SLEEP!’, from his mother, silenced them. 

It was with that in mind, that Sanada went to the tennis club the next day with two neatly, brush-painted letters for both Yukimura and Yanagi, in small, cream envelopes. He handed them to both before he started stripping off his own shirt. Yukimura took one look at the neat calligraphy on the front of the envelope and grinned. 

“Oh hell yes.” he said, with a laugh, as he put on his tennis shirt and buttoned it up. “I’m not passing up on your mother cooking for us before Districts.” 

Yanagi took a little longer, carefully reading the letter, before nodding with a smile. “Thank you for the invite for the sleepover, Sanada-kun.” he said, softly. “It would be useful for my mother to drop me off at your house for the tournament, since she isn’t quite sure of the location of where it’s taking place.”

“Sleepover?” demanded one of the senpai. “How girly.”

“Shut up.” all three of them said, at the same time, in various tones of annoyance. The senpai backed off, looking a little weirded out and Sanada glanced back at Yukimura, who just looked smug and Yanagi who looked coolly unaffected. “I’ll ask my mother,” said Yanagi, as he adjusted his shorts. “But I’m sure she’ll say yes.” 

Sanada nodded, as he tied his laces together. “Bring your sleeping stuff to school, somehow. My house is close to the school, so I usually walk home. I have spare futons and pillows, but things like pyjamas and toothpaste.” 

Yanagi almost pulled a face. “My sister can drive us home, if you like. She usually picks me up after tennis practise, it shouldn’t be a problem for her to drop us off at your house, Sanada-kun.” 

Sanada felt a small smile touch his lips and he nodded. Yukimura looked entirely too smug as he saw their interaction and Sanada rapped him with the tennis racket on his way to run practise laps. The yell that came after him at that caused a grin to reach his face, as he sprinted to leave the changing rooms before Yukimura could get him. 

(X)

Sanada affixed the hat to his slightly damp hair and picked up Yukimura’s tennis bag, without a word. He knew how much Yukimura liked to pack in his overnight bag. He also took Yanagi’s tennis bag, which led to a slightly quizzical look from the other boy.

“I haven’t got any overnight stuff. This will help you a little.” said Sanada clearly. He knew he was more physically strong than both Yanagi-kun and Yukimura. 

“My sister should be outside.” said Yanagi, with a small smile, “You shouldn’t worry yourself.”

“Oh, just let him be; he’s an old samurai at heart.” said Yukimura, with a laugh, tossing his head as he slung the bag that looked like it was carrying bricks, over his shoulder. “Sanada’s very chivalrous. But the moment he has to talk to a girl...”

“I’ll drop your racket.” said Sanada, feeling his face go red as both Yanagi and Yukimura started laughing. “Don’t think I won’t. Yukimura.” It was an empty threat and they all knew it, but still. 

Yukimura grinned and wrapped his arm around Sanada’s as they walked towards the door and Yanagi joined Yukimura’s other side. “If you drop it, you’ll pay for it, dear Gen-chan~” he said, in a lilting but slightly scary voice. 

Sanada elbowed him as they got into the blue car, that looked a little roughed-up. “Hello nee-chan.” said Yanagi, as he slipped into the front seat. “This is Sanada-kun and Yukimura-kun.” he said, indicating a hand to each of them. 

“It’s nice to meet you!” chorused Yukimura and Sanada, as they inclined their heads. “Thank you for dropping us off.” added Sanada.

“No problem.” said the older girl, with a smile that looked like Yanagi’s. “Seeing Renji finally make new friends is totally worth it.” she said, with a soft grin. 

Yanagi shifted in his seat and Yukimura and Sanada both exchanged quiet looks. They had become friends at the tennis club because everyone else had been too intimidated of them and because Sanada’s social skills had been lacking previously. With Yanagi-kun’s data, Sanada could see how the other children could have gotten intimidated. He was sort of glad that they were friends. It was difficult to be lonely. 

“What do you do, Yanagi-san?” asked Yukimura with a small smile, as he leaned forward. 

“Ahh, glad you asked. I work as head librarian in the local place. If you see me around while you’re there, you should say hi.” she said, as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled again. 

Sanada nodded, since it was more likely he would be at the local library than Yukimura. “We’ll be sure to do so, Yanagi-san.” he said, politely. 

“So, what are your predictions for victory at the districts, Renji?” asked his sister, with a slightly smug smirk. 

Yanagi just shook his head, with a mixture of fondness and annoyance. “100% victory in the first round, 98% victory for the second and third rounds, and 82% victory in the final, due to both exhaustion and overconfidence from the senpai.” he said, primly. 

“That bad for the finals?” asked Yukimura, sharply. “We’ll have to replace the finals lineup with ourselves. Myself in singles three, you two in doubles two and then captain in singles two, so we can sweep it in 6-0 games. That’s the only way we’ll make a reputation.”

“Reputation?” asked Yanagi’s sister, with a little interest.

“Well yes. Tennis is half a mental game. If you’ve ever seen any of Renji’s matches, he does that. He predicts and tosses statistics at his opponents to compromise their resolve to win. And on top of that, he has a very strong playing style. But the mental aspect is what guarantees him victory.” explained Yukimura, with a small smile. “Same with Sanada. He’s really quiet now, but when he gets on the courts, he shouts in this really intimidating voice that he won’t lose and you can’t catch up to him and there’s no hope for you, all in these samurai conjugations that sound super archaic. That combined with his excellent playstyle guarantees his victory. Making people scared and nervous by a reputation of strength, is half of the battle already won before the game has started.”

Yanagi’s sister laughed for a long while, almost swerving into a bicyclist as he did so. “Oh heavens, you put a lot of thought into this, Yukimura-kun.” she said, finally, with an amused smile. 

She was met by an impassive look from Yukimura. “I plan to go into professional tennis when I’m older. And this isn’t just a game. We plan to go to the top and you can’t do that without a plan and some resolve.” 

Sanada could almost see Yukimura close off himself in response to Yanagi’s sister’s bemusement. Sanada sent her a small frown, as they arrived at his house. Still, it wouldn’t do to be impolite, so he inclined his head and thanked her, politely but slightly distantly. 

He picked up everyone’s bags and this time, there were no complaints, perhaps because Yukimura was quiet and Yanagi was gaping at the size of Sanada’s house. Sanada flushed a little, as he strode towards it and pushed forward to the sliding door. He shoved it open, with a little too much force and yelled “Tadaima!”

Instead of his mother, grandfather or elder brother, his little four year old cousin ran straight into him, giggling and laughing. “Ojii-san! I caught another beetle, look!” he said, gesturing with his cupped hands. “Sei-nii-san!” he called, upon spotting Yukimura, immediately letting go of the beetle, which rapidly flew away. He ran out into the garden, with his house slippers on to give Yukimura a hug, and Sanada rolled his eyes. 

“Shoes, Sasuke-kun!” he shouted, as he removed his own and pulled down his house slippers. He was resoundly ignored, but Sanada let it slide, since Yukimura had lifted up Sasuke anyway, so his feet weren’t touching the ground. 

Yanagi followed Sanada in getting his shoes, while looking around. “How old is the house, Sanada-kun?” asked Yanagi, his eyes widening a little upon seeing a few old paintings that were hung on the wooden walls. 

“My great-grandfather rebuilt it after a fire, so...” Sanada’s brow furrowed as he did some quick calculations, while hauling the bags through the hallway. “Approximately 80 years. A bit before World War One.” he said, with a nod. “You’d have to ask my grandfather for anything more accurate, sorry, Yanagi-kun.” 

Yanagi nodded, looking interested. “But there was a another house here, before that?”

Sanada nodded. “From 1789.” he said, as he padded down the corridors with their stuff, towards his room. “During the Tokugawa period. Grandfather says that before then, we used to have a house in Gifu. But that’s because he claims that we originated from the original Sanada family.” 

“It’s not a claim if it’s true, Genichirou.” said a croaky voice as Sanada placed their stuff down in his room. Sanada twitched a little and turned around, feeling a little guilty, as he turned to face his grandfather, who wasn’t actually behind him. Sanada let out a small sigh of relief and pushed open the door to the small library, opposite his room. Yanagi followed him, looking completely awed by the amount of books that were stacked around the room, both haphazardly balanced on chaises and stacked neatly on bookshelves.

“Ojii-sama.” said Sanada, with a low bow as he ignored the familiar parts of his childhood, to focus on his grandfather, who was, for once, not in the dojo. “I didn’t mean to offend, but it is unlikely that we descended from the Sanada clan. There were plenty of Sanadas.”

“But, if we cannot prove that we did not descend from them, we cannot prove that we did not descend from them.” said Sanada’s grandfather, with a small smirk. 

“Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.” said Yanagi, with a small smile, from where he was reverently tracing the spines to some of the books in the library. “Ahh, sorry, Sanada-san!” he said, bowing lowly and sharply, as he remembered who he was talking to. 

Sanada’s grandfather chuckled and waved his hand. “Don’t worry about. You must be Yanagi-kun. Genichirou speaks a lot about you.” 

Sanada rocked back on his heels and fixed his eyes upon the Sanada Family Stone, as if it was particularly interesting. He had talked a lot about Yanagi to his grandfather, mostly praising his intelligence and also ranting a little about how close he was to Yukimura. But that was embarrassing. He wished that his grandfather hadn’t brought it up. He couldn’t dare to look towards Yanagi-kun, now. 

“Is that so? I hope they were good things.” said Yanagi, after a slightly too-long pause.

Sanada was saved from answering, by Yukimura skidding in, panting a little. “Hello Sanada-ojii-san!” he said, as he bowed sharply towards the Sanada patriarch. “It’s good to see you looking so well!”

“Seiichi-kun.” greeted Sanada’s grandfather with a smile. “I remember now what I wanted to ask you, Genichirou. I am of need of an assistant today, with my advanced class after dinner today. I’m sorry to ask this of you before your tennis tournament, but would you? Nobosuke is busy with trying to get Sasuke a place in your old elementary school.” 

Sanada nodded. “Of course, ojii-sama. That is, if you two don’t mind?” he asked to his friends. 

Yukimura shrugged. “I don’t mind. Just help me with the history homework before we eat, yeah?”

Yanagi smiled. “I don’t mind either. Do you mind if we come and watch?” 

Sanada shook his head. He didn’t really mind, kendo was as much of a spectator sport as tennis, and he was better at kendo, anyway. “I’ll be there, ojii-sama.” 

His grandfather smiled and waved them away. “Go off, finish your homework.” 

Sanada quickly ushered them out, eager to leave the library, though Yanagi seemed to be throwing a reluctant look towards the bookcases. Yukimura didn’t really notice, as he flopped down against the wall and pulled out his history book and Sanada quickly organized their suitcases to be more neat, but Sanada had.

“You can borrow some of the books from the library, if you like. My grandfather won’t mind, he’s read all of the novels. Just tell him you’re taking it.” said Sanada, as he fished out his history textbook and took a seat next to Yukimura. 

Yanagi sat on the opposite side of Yukimura and turned to Sanada. “Is it really okay?”

“Of course.” said Sanada, dismissively, as he turned his mind to Meiji Era timelines.

(X)

Sanada centred his mind down the sword as he faced his grandfather. The aim of this practise match wasn’t to beat his opponent, but showcase a high-class performance for the fourth-dan examinees. There was no way he could beat his grandfather when it came to skill, he was only a second dan, but he was one of the best in his age class. 

When his grandfather signalled, Sanada didn’t immediately lunge as many students were wont to do. Instead, he simply raised his shinai and waited. His grandfather did the same and the students muttered a little to themselves. Sanada ignored them and started circling. His grandfather did the same and when he thought he saw a small struggle in his grandfather’s step, he lunged forward, showing a simple move. 

His grandfather twisted out of the way and lunged forward at Sanada. Sanada’s sword intertwined in his and they spiralled around, Sanada’s teeth gritted a little from the effort of keeping his arms locked. He could see his grandfather’s challenging eyes through the helmet and Sanada kept his arms up.

As he felt a slight give in his grandfather’s arms, he twisted out and defended from the blow to his head before thrusting again. He found himself taunting a little with his shinai and waited again, for his grandfather to make a move.

With kendo against people his age, Sanada attacked, fast and hard, until they gave in. But against someone like his grandfather, who was light-years ahead of him, he waited and reacted. If he was too rash and reckless, he would not even have a chance against his more patient grandfather. He was as firm as a mountain and as silent as a forest. 

His grandfather smirked and there was a quick strike upwards. Sanada broke posture to defend and a swift blow came to his chest. One point. He frowned and settled back to their starting points. That had been quick, but Sanada was pleased to note that his grandfather had been unable to find any openings in his posture, if he’d had to resort to a tactic like that.

Silent as a forest. Sanada breathed in deeply and played the waiting game, the swirling game. He was looking for an opening or a chance to take, a way to defend and use his basic kata and show the other students that it wasn’t advanced kata that brought victory, but usage of normal kata in an advanced manner. Many people forgot that. 

It was one thing about both Yanagi and Yukimura’s tennis that worked in the same way to kendo. In the end, the thing that made them scary was that their basic game was so solid, that they rarely needed to resort to advanced moves. That was always something to be proud of.

There! With a loud shout, Sanada thrust forward. He saw that the opening was a little too wide to be unintentional on his grandfather’s part, but he took advantage of it, to show off one of the simplest kata to score a point. There was a louder muttering from the students as Sanada headed back to the line and he couldn’t help but catch Yukimura muttering something to Yanagi that made the other smile. 

Sanada wondered whether Yukimura was critiquing his form or just explaining the sport to Yanagi. Yukimura probably knew as much as he did about kendo, even if he remained summarily uninterested in picking up the sport. 

He fell back into his slight reverie and played the game one last time, until his grandfather managed to gain a head shot, quickly and simply, after a long drawn-out bout. Sanada bowed lowly to his grandfather as they ended and his grandfather did the same, to a lot of applause from the students.

As his grandfather opened the match up to analysis, Sanada approached his friends at the back of the dojo as he took off his helmet. Yukimura didn’t look up from his sketchbook but nodded and offered a curt, “Well done.” His fingers were flying across the pages with smooth, fluid lines and Sanada knew that he would see a lot more kendo sketches of himself soon.

“You did well, Genichirou.” said Yanagi, as he offered Sanada a towel.

Sanada almost dropped his helmet as he gaped at Yanagi. First names? What? He accepted the towel shakily and covered his face as he wiped it clear of the slight sweat. Was that how Yukimura and Yanagi had started addressing each other with their first names? Because Yanagi had randomly started calling Yukimura that? He wouldn’t have put it past Yukimura to just accept it easily.

But that wasn’t in Sanada’s nature. First names were only afforded to you from a family members, wasn’t it? Or close friends. 

He had to admit, he was getting very close with Yanagi, a lot faster than he and Yukimura had become friends, mostly because there was less childish bickering. Their shared interests, their doubles playing...was it close enough to be on first-name basis though? Well, he only had a limited time to make a decision.

“Thank you, Renji.” he said, with a small nod, as he took a seat next to the two of them, making a leap of faith. The warm smile on Yanagi’s face as he sat down and the slightly smug look on Yukimura’s face was probably worth it. 

(X)

As expected, the Yanagi-Sanada pair smashed their opposition to smithereens, in a brutal 6-0 set that was completed in a lightning-fast twenty minutes. Their playstyle had never been more in sync than at Districts.

“I knew you two would get along.” whispered Yukimura as Sanada sat down next to him. 

“As if.” said Sanada, with a scoff. “You didn’t even know that he liked Soseki. It was a coincidence.”

“Don’t count on it.” said Yukimura, with a smug smirk, as he brought up his racket to his shoulders and stood up. “I’m the _Child of God_ , after all.”

Sanada rolled his eyes as Yukimura went out to play. Yanagi returned from the vending machine and tossed Sanada a bottle of cold water, while taking a sip of iced tea, ignoring the slight mutter of blasphemy from Sanada. Their knees bumped against each other, companionably, as they watched Yukimura serve. 

“500 yen that he smashes him in less than our time.” murmured Yanagi. 

“Suckers bet. I’m not taking it.” said Sanada, with a slight smirk. “Of course he will.”

“Worth a shot.” said Yanagi, with a low chuckle. “I needed 500 yen to get another can of tea.”

Sanada rolled his eyes again and settled down to watch the match. “I’m not helping you fund that blasphemy against tea, Renji.”

There was a small smile from Yanagi as Yukimura scored his first point. “I hadn’t thought so.” he said softly. “But there’s a first time for everything.”


End file.
